[Coronavirus] Clinical experts propose classification of patients for self-treatment at home

SEOUL -- Clinical experts proposed the classification of patients infected with a new coronavirus so that those with minor symptoms can treat themselves at home as quarantine officials and doctors in areas hit hard by a raging epidemic showed a burnout syndrome and lack of beds due to the surging number of confirmed cases.

A systematic approach is needed to lower the death rate by allowing patients with light symptoms to treat themselves at their houses, a state-commissioned group of experts led by Oh Myung-don from Seoul National University (SNU) College of Medicine said in a press conference on Wednesday.

"We have 5,000 beds in state-run and public medical institutions, and if patients with mild symptoms stay at home, we will be able to handle it until the number of confirmed patients reaches around 20,000," Oh said, citing a report from China's health authorities that 81 percent of patients showed mild symptoms.

Bang Ji-hwan, a clinical professor at SNU College of Medicine, agreed and said: "There is a limit to resources in hospitalizing all patients. We should consider allowing minor patients to stay at home and take drugs."

Oh's proposal earned a favorable response as a 74-year-old man died of respiratory failure on Thursday shortly after he was transferred from his house to a hospital, becoming the 13th fatality. Due to a long queue in patients waiting for beds at isolation wards, the man tied to a controversial religious group in the southeastern city of Daegu had to stay at home.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus has been blamed for causing a sudden spike in the number of patients, since a 61-year-old follower was guaranteed on February 17 after attending services at its branch in Daegu. Some 60 percent of confirmed cases in recent days were, directly and indirectly, related to Shincheonji.

"It seems that local governments, which are increasingly concerned about the shortage of beds, are taking it quite seriously" due to a spike in the number of patients, Deputy Heal and Welfare Minister Kim Kang-rip told a regular press briefing on Thursday.

Shincheonji has presented a list of 212,000 followers and their contact information for swift virus tests across the country, but those recruited newly for indoctrination were excluded. Kim said, asking the religious group to provide a list of more than 70,000 "trainees" who have been at large because they were not listed as regular members.

The group has run camouflage churches, according to a YouTube account run by a cult buster who also released a taped sermon showing a Shincheonji leader in the southern port of Busan who said on February 9 that any followers in the group's local chapter in Wuhan, the epicenter of China's virus epidemic, have not been infected with the virus.

In response, Shincheonji issued a statement saying that hundreds of followers in Wuhan have never visited South Korea since December 2019, accusing Beijing of closing all worship halls used by followers in China in 2018.